


Unseen, Unheard, Unbothered

by maaldas



Series: Unseen, Unheard, Unbothered [1]
Category: Hey! Say! JUMP, Johnny's Entertainment
Genre: AriYama, M/M, Slow Burn, yamaari
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-07
Updated: 2019-12-15
Packaged: 2021-02-26 15:59:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21700822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maaldas/pseuds/maaldas
Summary: "It's always been like this. We've known each other for a very long time, almost half of our life time. I think we will continue like this for a long time. With how everything is changing around us, none of us know what the future will bring but one thing that I know for sure is that he and I will be unbothered."A story of Daiki Arioka and Ryosuke Yamada of Hey Say JUMP seen from  Ariyama colored lenses.  Ryosuke and Daiki as the main characters with other Jump members making appearance here and there.
Relationships: Arioka Daiki/Yamada Ryosuke
Series: Unseen, Unheard, Unbothered [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1564213
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	1. All of The Unseen

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer : Jump members are their own, not mine. I just borrow their image to play in my sandbox.
> 
> This is in no way depicting the real event. I just use information from various interviews as guideline and fill in the blanks with my own delulu. Forgive me because I'm permanently living on Ariyama delulu island. Some of the events are probably changed or switched to better fit the narration.
> 
> Retreat now, if Ariyama isn't your thing or if it makes you uncomfortable. This is your last warning.

When Ryosuke returned from the meeting he had with one of their managers about his schedule, everyone came forward to ask if he knew about the Young Kindaichi's Case Files theme song just yet but he just smiled and said that he too still had not informed about that. Everybody believed it and the conversation resumed with talks about how much the drama would impact the group's image. Young Kindaichi was a very well known drama with long histories of Johnnys actors starred in all of its release; almost like a brand. It would surely bring fresh air into the group and Hey!Say!Jump would be more widely known.

"This is a great chance, guys! We can't let it pass by us," said Yabu Kota and everyone agreed.

"But we shouldn't let this amazingly good news distracts us from our task right now. We still need to rehearse for the Johnny's World show," reminded Hikaru, always the serious one among them.

Daiki glanced at his best friend who sat quietly next to him and had yet uttered a single word. He thought Ryosuke looked a bit subdued so he elbowed the younger boy in an attempt to cheer him up. "I have a good feeling about this," he said to him trying to lift his mood.

Ryosuke granted him with a small genuine smile and a nod before resuming his attention to the preparation practice for the Johnny's World show. Daiki thought he was probably just thinking about his hectic schedule since Ryosuke got more and more works lately. He would understand if the boy was a bit overwhelmed but was sure that Ryosuke would work hard and deliver amazing result. He had decided to ask him to a dinner later after the meeting was resolved.

Throughout the whole meeting, Ryosuke seemed distracted. No one seemed to notice but Daiki who sat next to him and was already attuned to his mood could feel it. Since the formation of the group, he had dedicated himself to be the one who bridged the gap between members, which meant training himself to be more aware of the mood and situation around him just as what his manager had told him before. He took pride on his skill of reading his fellow members' mood. He was the first one who would notice when there was something wrong with them and took an immediate action to lift their mood either with jokes or silly acts.

Later on, when they were preparing to leave the office, Daiki approached Ryosuke to ask him to have dinner together and the other boy quickly agreed.

"Arioka-kun!"

Daiki turned around and saw Takaki Yuya jogged towards him. "Are you going to eat Dinner?" he asked.

"Em," Daiki nodded. "You too?" he asked the older boy and was answered by a smile.

He knew that Takaki was probably going to ask him to have dinner with him but unsure about Ryosuke. So, Daiki turned at Ryosuke to gauge his reaction at Takaki's addition to their dinner outing. He would have to make an excuse if Ryosuke disagreed but the younger boy just gave him a nod, which relieved him.

Daiki turned at Takaki and offered, "Would you like to come with us?"

"Yes, I'd love to!" the older boy immediately agreed.

It was proven to be the best decision he made that day because Ryosuke finally unloaded at both him and Takaki about his worries regarding the new song. Turned out, it was decided that Jump wouldn't be the one who sang the new theme song for the new Young Kindaichi TV movie. It was Ryosuke who would have to sing it solo. For the first time in the history of Hey!Say!Jump, a member would be going solo and it broke Ryosuke's heart.

Takaki and he spent a lot of time convincing Ryosuke not to let this chance go; that it was a great opportunity for the group no matter who sang the song. He was Jump's Ryosuke Yamada and he would sing the song as Jump's Ryosuke Yamada.

"But I can't do that," Ryosuke said forlornly, eyes downcast. His meal stayed untouched. "It'll be like betraying..."

"Don't say things like that!" Daiki snapped at him but felt guilty afterward because it made Ryosuke curled in on himself. He wanted to reach the other boy's hand but Ryosuke had pulled his hands on his lap; a sign that he was uncomfortable. He was closing himself up and Daiki could not let that happen. He needed him to open up.

"I don't think it will be a problem," said Takaki. "At least Best won't have a problem with that, right Arioka-kun?" he asked while looking at Daiki for affirmation.

"Em... Yabu-kun and Hikaru-kun knew what's best for the group and Inoo-chan is very mature. He'll understand. You don't have to worry." Daiki slipped his hand under the table to reach Ryosuke's hand. He grabbed hold of the younger boy's wrist and squeezed it, giving him support.

"Alright, then! Let's tell them!" Takaki said. "Sooner or later they'll know. So, it'll be better if they hear it from you directly."

Takaki was right, of course. They decided to tell the other members through their group chat. Daiki thought that it was better to gain their initial reaction first through mail, so they could plan their next step accordingly when they saw them the next day. If their reaction was bad, he agreed to accompany him to go see their manager to call everything off but fortunately, just as what he had expected, everyone understood.

"There! I sent it," Ryosuke said before leaving his phone in the middle of the table.

Daiki and Takaki peeked at its screen. For the next few seconds, no one replied but after a minute someone started typing. "Ah, Yuto replies first! He seems okay with it." Daiki announced when he saw the name of the person whose chat was under Ryosuke's.

"Really?" Ryosuke asked, a complete disbelieve was heard in his tone of voice. "I thought he'd..."

"Look, look, Chinen and Keito reply too!" Takaki said and after that the rest of the members replied one by one until the chat room was filled with all of their talks. They all supported the decision for Ryosuke to go solo, although Daiki knew that the boy's heart was not in it and that made him worry.

Johnny's World was hard, period. Halfway through its run, half of the members, including Daiki got ill, that forced the other surviving members to carry their fellow members' burden but they made it. They did not know how but somehow, through ups and downs as well as tears and sweat they did it splendidly. The President was overjoyed and praised them, which in turn elevated their mood and spirit to tackle the next project. Yet, they could not celebrate it because Ryosuke was hospitalized at the very end of the show. At the time, Daiki thought that the other shoe had finally dropped.

"I've talked with Johnny-san. He said he'll throw us a dinner party at a restaurant of our choosing and we'll get to eat whatever we want," informed Yabu when the eight of them were gathered around Ryosuke's hospital bed in his private room, courtesy of the President.

The Yamadas had gone home early in order to give them a private time with their son. From what they heard from his family, Ryosuke was overtired. So, the doctors advised him to have a full week rest to regain his energy and release him from stress.

"That's amazing, right Yama-chan?" chirped Yuto.

"Yutti loves to eat," said Keito.

Yuto quickly wrapped his long arm around the shy boy and send him a teasing smile. "Yes I am. That a problem?"

"No." Keito quickly shook his head while Yuto kept grinning at him.

Daiki smirked. Yuto always loved to tease Keito because the boy was very shy and easily flustered.

"Aaah, I can't wait! Get well soon, Yamada!" said Inoo-chan with a longing smile. No doubt he was already imagining the food he was planning to order at the promised party.

"You're drooling. It's embarrassing," Daiki teased Inoo-chan who promptly hit his arm. "Itai! That hurts!" he complained before turning towards the others. "Inoo-chan doesn't look it but he can hit really hard."

"That's because you're lame," teased Chinen.

"Oi!" Daiki protested.

"You really are lame, though, Dai-chan," Yuto added and was awarded by the members laughter at his expense.

"Oi! Don't you all laugh at me!"

"Just admit it that you're lame," Hika said patting his shoulder with a pitying look on his face.

"Why all of you so cruel to me," Daiki lamented. Then, he turned towards Ryosuke whom he saw was holding in his laughter on his hospital bed. Daiki pointed his finger at him. "Don't you dare!" he threatened.

"Why you always insist on fighting a losing battle? You never win against me and Chi in a game," Ryosuke said giggling.

"That's because you two are tag-timing me," Daiki pouted. "Next time let's do battle with me and Takaki!"

"Oi, leave me out of your quarrel!" Takaki Yuya interjected.

"You two chibis, stop dragging other people in your spat," said Inoo.

"When you get out of here, we'll have a rematch battle. Don't back out!" Daiki narrowed his eyes at his best friend.

"Why would I back out? You'll still gonna lose anyway," replied Ryosuke easily.

"Alright, alright, I think Ryosuke needs his rest. Let's go home everyone!" said Yabu.

"Do we have to go home now? I don't have school tomorrow," Chinen whined.

"Me too!" Yuto interjected. "Hey, let's go around town and find something to eat!"

"Is it okay with your parents?" Yabu asked Yuto. Since the boy's parents were rather strict, he had to call them every time they take Yuto out to eat somewhere.

"As long as I get home before twelve, everything's fine," confirmed Yuto.

"Alright! Anyone who wants to go eat with us raised your hand! I'll arrange the transportation with our manager," said Yabu.

Their group was famous of being noisy that even arranging car distribution was done in a loud manner. In the end, Yabu, Chinen, Yuto were grouped in a car together while Hikaru, Keito and Takaki took the other car. Inoo and Daiki were supposed to ride together in the third car but Inoo asked to be dropped off at the University citing that he needed to return a book or something. On their way to the parking lot Daiki felt uneasy, so he mailed Ryosuke to ask him about his well being.

<Are you really okay?> Daiki asked Ryosuke through his mail.

The reply did not come until they were well on their way to the restaurant, but it raised up his worry to another level when it came.

<I don't know...> came the reply.

Ever since they knew each other, he had never seen Ryosuke to be unsure of something. He had always been a strong minded boy who always knew what he wanted and worked hard to get it. He could be nervous or worried of a performance but he never backed out. Reading the reply, Daiki knew that he had to go back but he could not make the other members worry too. After Inoo was dropped off at the University, Daiki also asked to be dropped off at the nearest train station saying that he just had an emergency mail from his family who asked him to go home immediately. After that, he quickly took a cab to ride back to the hospital.

He knocked on Ryosuke's door before opening it a little. "Hey, can I come in? I know Johnny-san said we're allowed to visit at any time but if you'd rather sleep now, I'll go back tomorrow," said Daiki.

"No, it's okay. I can't sleep anyway. Come in Dai-chan!"

Daiki closed the door behind him and went to sit on the chair next to Ryosuke's bed while the boy was fiddling with his phone.

"You're back," he said. It was actually a statement rather than a question.

"Do you wanna talk? You know we can talk about anything, right?"

Ryosuke took a deep breath before blurted out, "I think I'm going to quit being Johnny's Dai-chan."

Daiki closed his eyes. This was it; the culmination of Ryosuke's turbulence heart. Daiki could not believe that it would come to this. He could not believe that that decision had put the poor boy into a corner and had finally forced him to express his feeling to quit the job altogether.

"You know I have never wanted to be Johnny's in the first place. I wanted to play soccer and joined the national team. I still do."

"But you like this job too, right?" Daiki asked, imploring on their shared happy memories together of being Johnny's. "You've met new friends, learnt new things and tackled new challenges everyday. It's exciting for you, right?"

Ryosuke smiled at him. "Right! I met you. Thank you for being my first ever friend from among the juniors, Dai-chan."

Daiki reached for his hands which Ryosuke quickly grasped tightly, eyes brimming with tears.

"But I can't do this. I feel like a traitor..."

"No, you're not a traitor!" said Daiki quickly. "Why are you talking like that? Did you see just now? None of them mind it!"

"I've told Manager-san that I want him to terminate my contract after I finished with all of my responsibility. I can't do this anymore..." Ryosuke told him as tears finally fell and soon the sound of his sobs filled the room.

Daiki's heart went out to him, so he grabbed the boy and hugged him tight. At that time he knew that he could not leave him alone; not after this and maybe not ever. Ryosuke never talked to anyone about his problems. He kept everything to himself and tried to solve it alone but Daiki always knew whenever he was troubled just as he knew when any of the members was in trouble with work. Whenever that happens, he usually just asked them out to eat somewhere or just hang on a café or something. Most of the time, it was Ryosuke. As the group's centre, he bore such a huge burden as the face of the group because he had never asked or agreed to it. Therefore, it was only natural that he paid more attention to him than anyone else. Yet, it was never this bad.

"Yamada ..." he stopped before trying again, "Ryosuke, there's a saying that when you hug someone that means you rest their heart. So, I'm gonna hug you until your heart is calm and stops raging."

Unexpectedly, that made Ryosuke cried harder. For a while, Daiki thought that maybe he had said the wrong thing but seeing how tightly Ryosuke hold him back made him think that it was probably the other way around.

The next few weeks their schedule was filled by promotion shoots for Young Kindaichi that obligated them to appear in various variety shows. Ryosuke never mentioned his intention to leave the industry again and Daiki never asked. He had decided to let the boy came to his own decision without any other influence. Not even the other members knew because there was no need to make them worry about things that has not yet decided. Secretly he hoped that Ryosuke would find strength and regain his believe in their work because if in the end he decided to quit then Daiki would quit too. He could not take another loss after Ryutaro. Not to mention that Inoo-chan too had started to lose faith. He knew that Inoo had his school to worry about and having no other work than group work was somehow easier for him to focus on graduating as soon as possible but Daiki's heart was not made of steel. He could not help feeling that Jump was falling apart at the seams. It was scary.

"I'm so nervous," ryosuke mumbled next to him as they were waiting in their dressing room. It was another promotion shoot and the make-up staff had told them to wait there while the other staffs were preparing for the show.

"We've been doing it for a while now. What're you worried about?" Daiki chuckled.

"That's why! We've been doing it for a several times already. I don't know anything else to say!" Ryosuke lamented.

"Ah, you should bully me, then."

"Eh? Why?"

"Yamada-san, Arioka-san we're about to start now!" called one of the staff.

"Yes!" Daiki quickly stood and went out of the dressing room with Ryosuke close on his heel.

"Wait, Dai-chan! Why should I bully you on camera?" he asked.

Daiki turned back at him just as before he exited the door and said, "Just trust me. I'll give you que." He patted the boy's left chubby cheek with his pointy finger and smiled at him.

Needless to say, his plan went well. Ryosuke who had paid close attention to him during the shooting quickly got his cue and promptly told them about an embarrassing half truth about Arioka Daiki which made the others laugh. Since he had already expected the bullying he could think on several ways to make his reaction looked funny. Somehow, after that it became their trademark.

"It's nice to have your own place, isn't it?" said Ryosuke one day as they were lying about on Daiki's bed at his new apartment.

"Em... you should too," Daiki said, tapping Ryosuke's fingers next to his on the bed.

"Hmmm...maybe I should too."

There was a lull in the conversation as both of their minds were filled with thoughts. Daiki unconsciously played with Ryosuke's fingers as he was contemplating something. Another nationwide tour was decided at the beginning of the year and there would also be another single released midyear. Seven would soon be twenty that year too. Ryosuke had finally had a talk with their manager about withdrawing his resignation. He was glad because Ryosuke was a talented boy and an asset for the group. Suddenly, there was a feeling of being left behind grown in his heart. Everyone had become an asset for the group. They were all growing; playing musical instrument, acting on lots of drama and plays. What did Daiki has?

"I think I need to grow too," he said suddenly out of the blue.

"Eh? What do you mean?" asked Ryosuke.

"All of you guys have grown. You add value to your worth and polish your skill to be better." Daiki frowned before continuing hesitantly. "I think... I think I'm the only one who's stagnant."

"What are you talking about?!" Ryosuke sat up and frowned down at him. "You're worth more than you think, Dai-chan!"

"But I don't feel like that. I think there's something lacking in me."

"I don't like it when you say things like that! That's not what I see in you!" insisted Ryosuke rather forcefully. He even squeezed Daiki's arm to get his message across but it still could not erase the doubt that had polluted his heart and mind.

He sat up too and leaned on the wall followed by Ryosuke. The other boy kept clinging to his arm with a frown on his face. He kind of felt guilty for putting that frown on his handsome face but he could not help it. Everything that he felt was real and it slowly but surely ate at him. There was this urge to do something but he did not know what he should do.

"I had a talk with Inoo-chan the other day. I asked him what he usually does when he feels frustrated about work. He only said that he just tries to be himself and be confident in whatever he does. 'Just do whatever I wanna do' he said," Daiki told Ryosuke which unexpectedly made the other boy even more worried.

Ryosuke shifted on the bed, folding both his legs underneath his thighs and sat facing him. His face crumpled and a gloomy air spread around him. He grabbed Daiki's left upper arm tightly and whined, "Dai-chaann..."

For a dog person, Ryosuke did sound like a kitten just then and it almost made Daiki laugh but he caught himself in the last second when he saw how troubled the boy had become. He took a deep breath and chuckled.

"Why are you... don't worry, I'm not quitting," Daiki assured him. That must be what Ryosuke thought when he listened to Daiki's ramblings. He reached out to rub his thumb across the boy's forehead, smoothing the frown that had appeared there. "I don't like this. Please, don't make this kinda face."

Then, quick as a bullet Ryosuke grabbed him with both arms and hugged him tightly with such a force that took his breath away. He struggled to regain his breathing before asking, "What are you doing? I can't breathe."

Yet, Ryosuke did not relent. "Shut up! I'm hugging you!" he mumbled instead, burying his face on Daiki's shoulder. Daiki smiled to himself as he returned the hug. "Dai-chan, whatever you decide to do... Would you please tell me?"

"Of course! I'll always tell you, Ryosuke."

"And..." Ryosuke hesitated, "Call me that when we're alone," he said with a small voice.

Daiki grinned and hugged the boy tighter. Ryosuke was inherently shy. He was just an expert at putting on a mask when he was on stage or in front of camera. It was one of the reasons why his acting was so good.

The self searching that he did in order to regain his confidence had led him into the middle of the woods in Yakushima. It was an unforgettable experience that he would treasure for the rest of his life. As promised, he had called Ryosuke before he even left his apartment building and had kept updating him throughout his journey but in the middle of the trip, one of their managers called and asked him to return to Tokyo immediately for a meeting. He had felt lost but Ryosuke's words kept him going and he was grateful because none other than Ryosuke supported his decision to continue his journey.

"So, how was it?" asked Ryosuke as soon as he could get Daiki alone the day he returned from Yakushima. The other members had greeted him warmly that morning asking about the same thing and Daiki was relieved. He thought they would be mad at him for acting selfishly by neglecting the meeting for personal interest. At that time, he realized that he was truly blessed to be a member of this group.

"It's great!" Daiki beamed at him. Both of them were the last ones who stayed in the dressing room as they were preparing for a new PV shooting. He looped an arm around the younger boy's shoulder and guided their way out of the room. "I'll tell you all about it over dinner. How about that? My treat!"

"Really?!" Ryosuke grinned.

Daiki nodded. "I even brought back a gift. Just for you," He said squeezing the boy's shoulder lovingly. Ever since that soul searching experience, it was clear to him that this boy was an important person in his life and who would always hold a special place in his heart.

"What is it?! What? Tell me!" Ryosuke pestered him while jumping and clinging to the lapel of his suit.

"You'll mess my suit. Wardrobe-san will be angry at me," Daiki scolded him lightly and slapped his fingers off his suit jacket. "You never have patience for surprises aren't you?"

"'Cause you tease me with it," Ryosuke pouted.

"Impatient boy!" Daiki pinched his cheek before running away into the studio set and laughing heartily with Ryosuke close on his heels.

"Dai-chaaaaaannn!"

He ended up spending the night at the Yamadas house because Ryosuke's parents immediately invited him over once they heard that he had returned from his journey. Ryosuke even showed him the Kesaran Pasaran that inhabited their house the past few weeks. Naturally, Daiki poured face powder on top of Ryosuke's head when the boy was not looking, resulting in an impromptu wrestling match on the floor.

"I just washed my hair!" growled Ryosuke as he held Daiki's head in an arm lock.

"I can't help it. You're my good luck charm, ne? gotta feed you well." Daiki slipped his arm from underneath his body and grabbed the other boy's thigh and pulled, eliciting a scream from Ryosuke. "Now, let go of me or I'll dislocate your hip."

"Ahhhh!! I won't! And I'm not a yokai!"

In the end, it was Ryosuke's mother who had to come to separate them. After dinner, the Yamada patriarch invited him for a drink on the porch and congratulated him for finally moving out and becoming independent. The conversation then turned into talks about apartment hunting as Yamada-san expressed his interest in looking for one. He also told him about his concern regarding their only son and asked him to help Ryosuke when the boy decided to move out too. Daiki thought that Ryosuke was already an independent boy and very matured for his age but he agreed to it anyway just to ease the older man's mind. He understood that parents would always worry about their children.


	2. Everything that is Unheard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where Daiki's feeling for his best friend has made him the most disgusted person on earth and he can't stop blaming himself for it. In other words, Daiki has a perverted thought and Ryosuke keeps teasing him. ;) AriYama ladies and Gents! Enjoy!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer : Jump members are their own, not mine. I just borrow their image to play in my sandbox. All grammar mistakes are mine. I welcome any constructive criticism.
> 
> This is in no way depicting the real event. I just use information from various interviews as guideline and fill in the blanks with my own delulu. Forgive me because I'm permanently living on Ariyama delulu island. Some of the events are probably changed or switched to better fit the narration.
> 
> Retreat now, if Ariyama isn't your thing or if it makes you uncomfortable. This is your last warning.

Daiki felt that things had started to come into place that year. He could finally see the true shape of the group. Admittedly, there were still a lot of growing up to do but Jump had started to take the reign as awareness slowly awakened within each of the members. The debut of new groups raised the stakes of the competition in the industry. They were also informed that since Young Kindaichi TV Special was a success, both Daiki and Ryosuke were slotted to shoot another TV Special that year. This time, Ryosuke went ahead to have talk with the manager. He put his foot down insisting that the next theme song would be sung by the group or not at all. Then, a group meeting was held. It was perhaps the most important meeting in the history of HeySayJUMP. Voices was heard, ideas were thought about, grievances were aired, even fights ensued but collectively they agreed to move forward with new determination and be stronger together.

Ryosuke followed him to sit next to him at the back row of their transport car and promptly hugged his left arm before Daiki even had time to put his bags down. The younger boy then put his forehead into the crook of his neck and stayed there; his warm breath tickled Daiki's sensitive neck.

"What is it?" he softly asked him but they younger boy stayed silent.

Takaki Yuya hoped in the car. The older guy glanced at Ryosuke then raised his eyebrows at Daiki. Daiki tilted his head slightly before shrugging with his right shoulder, silently saying that he was also at a loss of what to do. Takaki only nodded then took a seat in front of them. Since Ryosuke refused to speak, Daiki laid his head on the headrest and closed his eyes, napping lightly. It was their last activity for that day and the manager took them home one by one. They were supposed to drop Daiki first since his apartment was closer but he was awakened by the manager's voice who said that they had arrived at the parking lot of Takaki Yuya's building.

"Eh? Why does Takaki got off first? Have we passed by my building?" Daiki asked the manager.

"Yamada-san asked me to drop both of you last," replied the manager.

"Alright, then. See you later, Arioka-kun!"

"See you later, Takaki."

The car took them to a new apartment building. Daiki woke Ryosuke up and asked him why he asked the manager to bring them there; the other boy just mumbled something about wanting to show him something. They got off the car, hat and mask on, lead by Ryosuke and went into the building. It was a posh apartment building with great security and lobby service. Ryosuke took a pair of keys from the receptionist and lead them to the upper floor.

"Whose apartment is this?" asked Daiki when they stopped in front of one of the rooms. Ryosuke opened the door with the key he received from the receptionist and ushered him in. A thought crossed Daiki's mind. "Oi, you're not gonna molest me here, are you?" he joked.

"What're you talking about? Baka!" Ryosuke replied, flustered. His face got really red real quickly and he refused to look at Daiki.

Daiki smirked as he thought how cute the boy looked just then and his heart was suddenly full of warm feelings that he could not explain. Another dangerous thought crossed his mind; one that was thought of only as a joke few minutes ago had anchored itself in his brain perversely. Would he really mind it, though, if something would to happen in that room? The answer was surprisingly 'no'.

"So, what do you think?" asked Ryosuke suddenly as he walked around the sparse wide living room, hands fiddled with the keys. It was another sign of his nervousness.

Daiki, whose mind was still stuck on his own perverted thought, was gob smacked. He raised his eyebrows in surprise and stammered, "N...n...nani? Well, I... I... I wouldn't ... mind... I guess?"

Ryosuke turned around to look at him, eyes wide. "So, you agree?"

"Eh? Here?!" He looked around the beautiful interior of the room and glanced back at Ryosuke. The other boy's eyes were round and big and innocent looking as he smiled at him, eagerly waiting for Daiki's response. Daiki's blood went south in lightning speed, causing him a sudden lightheadedness that made him swayed on the spot. He grabbed hold of the wall behind him and surreptitiously took a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself down, while Ryosuke obliviously continued to talk about the apartment building.

"When I told my family I want to move out, my dad showed me several brochures. I didn't know that he'd been looking for an apartment for me. I have been to three of them but I think I like this one the most. What do you think?" Ryosuke asked him.

Daiki slowly turned around and faced the wall behind him before hitting his forehead on it repeatedly. Get your mind out of the gutter, Daiki! He's your best friend! And besides, his father had entrusted him to you. Yes, Yamada san, I think we really need to talk, you old geezer!

"Eeehh! Dai-chan, why d'you hit your head on the wall!?" asked Ryosuke confused.

Daiki wanted to disappear. He prayed that the ceiling on top of him would crumble and bury him alive or the floor would suddenly open up and swallow him whole. He was so embarrassed that he couldn't bear to look at his best friend. He was sure that his face was already as red as tomato right then.

"Nothing, I'm just..." He floundered for a few seconds but he was not Arioka Daiki if he could not think of something on the spot in a situation like this. "I'm just checking the wall's strength." He rapped on the wall with his knuckles several times. "Em, the wall's strong enough! I think it's a good apartment."

"Of course it's strong! It's a new building, you know," Ryosuke said before adding, "Oh, I haven't checked the shower when I came here the first time."

Seeing an opportunity to escape, Daiki seized it. "Let's have a shower check, then. Let's go!" He quickly dashed to the bathroom without even a glance at Ryosuke.

"You're so weird today. What's up with you?" Ryosuke grumbled as he followed Daiki to the bathroom.

Daiki heard Ryosuke voiced his confusion behind him but he chose to ignore it. Once entering the bathroom, he suddenly had an urge to jump into the shower to clean himself up but refrained and distracted himself by checking the water pressure instead. If some of the water somehow miraculously ended up on his face, well, it could not be helped. It was a strong water pressure after all.

"I don't understand. How come checking shower's water pressure makes you end up looking like a wet cat," Ryosuke teased him. Daiki pulled his hat down to cover his wet hair and face before putting on a face mask as they walked out of the building together. The younger boy pulled on his wet shirt collar, snickering amusedly. "Look at this. It's so wet!"

"Ryosuke, please don't touch me. I feel so dirty," Daiki mumbled then went beet red when he realized what he had just said. Luckily, the face mask that he wore buffered most of his voice that Ryosuke had to ask him to repeat his words. "Nothing! I just need to go home and change my clothes," he said instead.

"Right, you should do that before you get sick, Dai-chan," Ryosuke said frowning and looking very worried, which in turn made Daiki feel guilty.

They parted ways outside of the building; each taking different taxi to go home. Ryosuke kept messaging him on the way making sure he got home alright. He was being such a good boy that made Daiki cursed himself even more for entertaining such a thought. He truly did not deserve him.

"Aren't my stickers cool?" boasted Ryosuke one night while they were playing video games at Ryosuke's living room. They had just returned from their Young Kindaichi drama shooting overseas and were winding down at Ryosuke's apartment.

"Because I bought them for you and arranged them on your laptop. Who knows what they'll look like if I let you do it on your own," commented Dai-chan distractedly, eyes glued to the monitor and fingers busy with his console. He almost dropped his console when Ryosuke suddenly wacked his head with a t-shirt a few times making him lose his concentration.

"Stop it!" Daiki snapped before grabbing the end of the shirt and pulled them off Ryosuke's hand and in turn hit the younger boy with it.

Ryosuke ran towards his bedroom to grab another t-shirt. Daiki jumped up and chased him and both of them continued their fight while laughing. Daiki managed to trip Ryosuke by hitting low on his legs sending the younger boy rolling on the ground. He straddled him and hit his head repeatedly with the shirt.

"Say you're sorry!" Daiki shouted, grinning happily at his victory.

"No!" Ryosuke shouted stubbornly as he pulled his hands up covering his face from Daiki's shirt attack. He suddenly twisted his hip and pushed Daiki to the side. Before Daiki could get up again, the younger boy quickly hoped on top of him. Daiki, knowing Ryosuke's move beforehand, wrapped his arm around the boy's chest, disrupting his balance. They wrestled for a few seconds before Ryosuke played dirty by biting Daiki's left ear. Daiki screamed in pain before retaliating by biting Ryosuke's chest.

Ryosuke's shouted in surprise and hurriedly let go of his hold on Daiki. The boy inched backwards and continued to put a distance between them until his back hit the edge of his bed. Daiki who was glad that the wrestling was over slowly sat up, rubbing his reddened left ear with his left hand. He could not believe that Ryosuke would bite his ear.

"You bit my ear," he grumbled. "Who do you think you are? Tyson?" Not that Ryosuke would know who Mike Tyson was as Daiki himself barely knew the boxer. If not because of Inoo-chan who quizzed him about sport trivia the other day he would not know who Mike Tyson was.

Usually, the other boy would have a comeback ready for him but when Ryosuke stayed silent Daiki looked up. He saw the boy leaned quietly on the side of the bed with his head down and his right palm over his right nipple where Daiki had apparently bit. Daiki did not mean to bite him but Ryosuke surprised him by biting his ear that he had to retaliate by biting anything close. Unfortunately, it was Ryosuke's right nipple.

"Ryosuke, are you alright?" Daiki asked. "I didn't bite you too hard, did I?"

Ryosuke shook his head slowly and kept his head down. Forgetting his own stinging left ear, Daiki crawled slowly at him and felt hurt when Ryosuke in turn wrapped his other arm around his chest as if protecting it from an attack.

"Ryosuke, gomen ne? I did not mean to bite you. It was just reflex because you startled me, that's all," Daiki explained anxiously but the other boy stayed quiet still. He tried to peek on his face but the boy kept avoiding him. Daiki thought his behavior was really weird. Ryosuke would not look at him even though he had apologized a few times. It was almost as if the boy was embarrassed of something, which baffled him. Forgiveness was never a hardship between them. They would forgive even before the other apologize because their friendship worth more than a little misunderstanding.

Ryosuke shifted on his bum and wrapped both arms more securely around his chest, rubbing them slowly. The imaginary light bulb suddenly lit above Daiki's head as a thought entered his mind. "Eh, wait a minute. Do you have sensitive nipples?" he blurted out. It was a wild guess on his part but from the way Ryosuke acted he suspected that it was true. No wonder he was so embarrassed.

"Don't laugh," Ryosuke mumbled.

"I'm not laughing," Daiki hurriedly said. He hesitated for a few seconds before slowly crawled to sit next to him. He did not dare to sit closer because he knew this boy like he knew the back of his hand. When Ryosuke was like this, it was better to just give him space but stayed around his orbit as safety net.

Daiki lifted his shirt to rub the reddened skin on his right waist. "Ah, I still got rashes here. It's from the clothes material for the previous shooting. I have too sensitive skin just like Chinen," he said to himself. He pulled down his jeans to reveal more redness around his right hip and lower stomach.

"Does it hurt?" asked Ryosuke. The boy scooted closer to better see the redness on Daiki's hip. He crouched down on the floor until his face was level with Daiki's hip.

"It doesn't hurt that much, more like itchy but I can't scratch it or it'll leave marks on my skin."

"You have salve for this, right?"

"Yes, I already applied it this morning. Usually it takes two days for the redness to disappear. It's itchy, though." Ryosuke touched the redness on Daiki's right hip with his fore finger. Daiki quickly slapped his finger away while grumbling, "Stop it!"

The other boy looked up but not moving from his place. "You said it's itchy. I won't scratch it. I'll just rub it slowly," said Ryosuke reaching out another finger to rub on Daiki's hip. He even added his middle finger to rub the reddened part around Daiki's lower stomach.

"Ryosuke, stop it, please!" Daiki hissed. He grabbed hold of Ryosuke's hand to stop his persistent rubbing.

"Why?" Ryosuke asked, tilting his face up innocently.

Daiki bit his lip. It was one of those moments when he felt an overwhelming urge to stab himself with the nearest sharp object. He wondered if this was what people call as unresolved sexual tension. Well, at least his plan to distract Ryosuke from his embarrassment was a success. Now, he just needed to think of a way to avoid himself from another embarrassing situation.

"I'll... I'll do it myself," he mumbled quietly.

"Eh? Why do you look embarrassed all of a sudden? Your face is red Dai-chan," commented Ryosuke.

"There's a ... uhm ... certain reaction ... when ... when ... you rub... it... there..." Daiki stammered. Ryosuke raised his eyebrows, making his eyes looked bigger. 'Would you please stop looking at me like that Ryosuke?' He pleaded silently. For the second time, he wished the floor to open up and swallow him whole.

Ryosuke frowned. "Uhm... what reaction?"

Daiki closed his eyes in defeat and let out a sigh before blurting out, "It gets me excited, okay?!"

Preparing for the worst, Daiki held his breath and kept his eyes closed, already imagining Ryosuke's disgusted face when a giggle suddenly broke the awkward tense silence in the room. Daiki slowly opened his eyes to see his best friend rolled around on the floor laughing his ass off. "Stop laughing! It's not that funny," Daiki grumbled half-heartedly.

"It is!" Ryosuke said between laughter. He was laughing so hard that tears ran down his cheeks. Yet, his merriment seemed to be contagious as Daiki soon found himself laughing alongside him.

"Well, we're both young boys after all," Daiki said, immensely relieved that things were back to normal between them.

Then, Daiki's laughter got immediately stuck in his throat when Ryosuke who seemed to be oblivious to his quandary casually threw careless comment in his face. "Maybe we should watch porn together someday."

That comment successfully sent Daiki's mind into a tailspin and his poor heart into a rollercoaster ride. The little rascal! Daiki really wanted to hit him and maybe kiss his laughing lips after. Would someone take a pity on him and shoot him already?

When 'Ride With Me' was decided, Daiki fell in love. With the song, mind you, not his best friend. But then again said best friend really made it difficult for him to keep his questionable thoughts to himself. He was sure that he would go crazy even before the year was over.

'Ride With Me' talked about growing up and taking control of one's life; about embarking in a new adventure and deciding your own fate despite what the surrounding others told you. He felt the song was truly a reflection of their group and their struggle. He could really see them singing and dancing to the song many times in future concerts. The song marked the birth of the new HeySayJUMP.

Another thing that marked this year as special was Seven's coming of age. They celebrated Keito's 20th birthday just before the start of the Live Tour. Hikaru and Daiki arranged for a dinner outing with Best members before kidnapping the birthday boy after rehearsal. Yet, they could not do the same with Ryosuke's 20th birthday because the boy was very strict with his schedule during tour. It was this work ethic and professionalism that Daiki really admired from him. Although the others often said that he was a serious guy during work, compared to Ryosuke, he was pretty laid back.

"Let's have a drink after this!" Daiki asked Ryosuke after they were finished with the magazine photo shoot for the second Young Kindaichi Special promotion. "Man, I really wanted to ask you that for a while now."

Ryosuke chuckled. "Why? Do you want to get me drunk or something?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. You refused our invitation to celebrate your birthday during tour. Now that we've finished with both our tour and movie shooting, you aren't allowed to say no."

"Is that a threat?" Ryosuke teased him. "Are you threatening me, Arioka Daiki?"

Daiki folded his arms in front of his chest and stared down at the shorter boy while Ryosuke narrowed his eyes at him in turn, both hands on his hips. They played this staring game countless times with various results. Even though Ryosuke loved foul play and often cheat in their game, Daiki always forgave him. This time though he intended not to succumb to the younger boy's machinations, which was easier to be said than done.

"I'll go with you when you take your driving license," Daiki finally said while internally hitting himself in the head.

Ryosuke grinned. "Let's have that drink then!" he said happily looping an arm around Daiki's shoulder.

"I'll get you back for that," Daiki grumbled.

"You said it yourself. I didn't force you," said Ryosuke easily while still grinning. It was not that Daiki did not want to accompany him to get his driving license. He would go anyway but he wanted Ryosuke to ask first and maybe pretended to refuse at first just to tease him. The boy had tricked him too many times it was embarrassing. He wondered if there would be a day when he was finally able to resist Ryosuke Yamada's lovable charm.

When they arrived at the restaurant of Daiki's choosing, the other Best members and Keito was already there. Ryosuke looked surprised and happy despite the noises he made about being tricked by Daiki. At the turn of the night, they successfully managed to get Ryosuke Yamada drunk for the first time. As expected, he was a weak drinker. A half bottle of sake had triumphantly made him sway on his seat and clung to Takaki Yuya for the rest of the night. Hikaru who was also drunk kept trying to make him drink the rest of the bottle before Yabu intervened.

"I think he has enough Hika," said Yabu taking the bottle out of Hikaru's hand.

"Nooo... just one more. He can take it," Hikaru complained, slurring his words rather badly.

"No!" Yabu said determinedly. In every outing, Yabu Kota was the most responsible one among them. He, sometimes assisted by Takaki Yuya, looked out for them all. "Ryosuke needs to go home."

"Then, let me drink it," Hikaru said, reaching out to grab the bottle from Yabu's hand but his uncoordinated limbs sent him sprawling on the floor instead.

"I think it's time for us to go home too," said Inoo who was also a little tipsy himself, bending down to help Hikaru up.

"I'm already home," Hikaru mumbled from the floor.

"No, you're not!" Yabu said sternly before looking at both Daiki and Keito. "Since you both have been to his apartment. Can you take Ryosuke home?" he asked.

"Yep! I'll take him home," Daiki agreed as he was already pulling Ryosuke off of Takaki. The boy seemed to the type who clung to people when drunk as he immediately clung to Daiki as soon as he was weaned off of Takaki. Keito quickly assisted him by taking half of his weight off Daiki. Ryosuke was not heavy and Daiki could carry him by himself just fine but his clingy behavior made it difficult for Daiki to move.

"Not to worry, Yabu-kun. We'll take Yama-chan home safely," Keito promised; always a good and dependable boy. Since, Keito and he had planned the outing; they made a pact to watch each other's alcohol intake that night in order to stay sober.

"Alright then, I trust him to you both. We still need to get this one home," Yabu said looking at an unconscious Hikaru who was being propped up by Inoo and Takaki.

Yabu finished their business at the restaurant before calling two taxis for them. He would go with Takaki and Inoo to Hikaru's apartment while Daiki and Keito took Ryosuke to his apartment. They were careful not to be seen by paparazzi because bad publicity was the last thing they need at the moment.

Keito opened the door to Ryosuke's apartment with the key Daiki had fished out of the drunken boy's pocket. Keito helped Daiki carry Ryosuke to the bedroom before going back out to lock the door front door.

"You're home now, Yamada. Come on, off you go!"

Daiki tried to peel Ryosuke's limbs off of his person but the boy was proven to be as stubborn as when he was sober. He whined and wrapped his limbs tighter around Daiki.

"Nooo... don wannaaaaaa.. why'r yuu callin me Yamada..." he mumbled incoherently.

"Because that's your name," Daiki said. He managed to pull Ryosuke's arm from around his neck but the boy fought him. "Stop wrapping your arms around me! I need to get you on the bed."

They struggled for a few seconds and Daiki got slapped a couple of times before he finally got hold of both Ryosuke's flailing arms. The boy then leaned on him and pushed their foreheads together whining, "Dai-chaaaannn...." and pressing both their faces drunkenly. He moved his lips around Daiki's face until it got to his lips. It was not a kiss per se. Daiki refused to call that a kiss because it was done very clumsily and Ryosuke was so drunk he could not be held responsible for his action, yet it still made his heart skipped a beat and his stomach flipped.

"I bring water," Keito called out as he entered the bedroom holding a glass of water in his hand.

Daiki quickly pushed Ryosuke away but the boy got angry all of a sudden and tried to kick him. He lost his balance of course and fell bringing Daiki who was trying to help him down too. They both hit the floor hard.

"Yabai kore," Daiki sighed in defeat while rubbing the par of his head that hit the floor. Ryosuke was already unconscious next to him.

"What're you guys doing?" asked Keito confused seeing both his group members sprawled on the floor.

"Keito, please help me," he pleaded.

With Keito's help, they finally managed to get Ryosuke on the bed. Keito prepared a glass of fresh water on his bedside table while Daiki stripped him off his shoes. They left Ryosuke's apartment to let the boy rest while promising to check on him in the morning.

Yabu was the first who mailed them through their group chat in the morning updating Yuto and Chinen of their previous activity while checking on the other group members. Keito reported that he had called Ryosuke's phone and got only incomprehensible mumble in response before the apparently still drunk boy hung up on him. Well, at least he picked up his phone and not choked on his own bile to death somewhere in that posh apartment of his, Daiki thought. Daiki did not call or even mail him after that night until they meet again on their scheduled dance practice for the new single a couple of days later.

He had prepared himself for an awkward meeting with Ryosuke but the boy seemed to not remember anything from that night. He behaved just as usual; still teasing Daiki mercilessly and pulling pranks on him. Daiki was glad. He convinced himself that this was better and determined to forget about the 'almost kiss' between them.

To be continue .........

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N : Eh, you're still here? I guess this story is somewhat okay 😅. Thank you anyway for reading my delusional ramblings about AriYama. Really appreciate it! 🙇  
> Yabai! If you ask me how long this story gonna be then I may not be able to answer. There used to be a plan and an outline for this but when I dig around deeper on my research, all the plan flew out of the window 😑. Sorry for that!
> 
> The idea of writing this came when I saw the kabedon scene between AriYama during Masquarade pv making, quite a while ago. I thought to myself, 'Damn! I really need to write hot angsty smut fic based on that' but my love for AriYama forbid me to do that.🙅 They deserve more than that from me. I need to give them more back story than just pwp smut fic. So, I postpone writing that fic and write other fics instead. It took me quite a while before I finally convinced myself to open wattpad acount and stop lurking. I lurked this site for quite sometimes; just reading. I don't see that many AriYama stans in this fandom or you guys are just that good in lurking😆. Poke/ping me either in comment or inbox msg if you're shy. I'd love to get to know you guys. 🤗  
> I'll probably still write the smut but at least there is more meat to the bone now compared to my previous one shot plan. Two more years to write before I get to 2016😤. Please my muse don't let me down 🙏.
> 
> AriYama is cute and adorable and this is my love letter or love diary for those two Baka and Adorable boys. ❤🧡

**Author's Note:**

> AN: I want to continue this as the time goes by adding more Ariyama BTS of recent events. I heard the recent concert is amazing (as always) and Ariyama is amazing (as I always knew). I need the full con report. It's so much fun adding Ariyama delulu from the con BTS. Fufufufu...😘😘


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